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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the narrator and the cashier strike up a conversation, what does the narrator want to know?
(a) If the cashier is from Sri Lanka.
(b) If the cashier knows what language is spoken in Sri Lanka.
(c) If there are many Sri Lankans living in London.
(d) If there's a good Sri Lankan restaurant nearby.

2. What does the individual who approaches the cashier and narrator begin to do?
(a) Hammers at the window.
(b) Laughs out loud.
(c) Cries loudly.
(d) Calls their names.

3. Why does Triton run away from home?
(a) He burns a roof at his school and fears his father's wrath.
(b) He is the oldest of twelve kids and he wants to get away from the daily chaos.
(c) His mother wants him to become a temple priest, but he refuses.
(d) He is tired of the daily beatings he receives from his uncle.

4. How is Mr. Salgado associated with the narrator?
(a) Mr. Salgado is the narrator's priest.
(b) The narrator used to work for Mr. Salgado.
(c) The narrator has Mr. Salgado arrested.
(d) Mr. Salgado is the narrator's uncle.

5. When Triton gets up to investigate the source of the sound in the house, he finds Joseph in Mr. Salgado's room. What is the man doing there?
(a) Rubbing cologne on his chest.
(b) Reading Mr. Salgado's diary.
(c) Trying out Mr. Salgado's clothes.
(d) Stealing money.

Short Answer Questions

1. As the narrator begins to speak about his former life in Sri Lanka, he talks about a ______.

2. The haberdasher who stops by Mr. Salgado's house on Thursdays is one of the what who stops by regularly?

3. How far away is Sri Lanka from England?

4. How old is Triton when he goes to work for Mr. Salgado?

5. Who used to own the car that belongs to the narrator at the start of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Part 1, Kolla", why is Triton left alone in Mr. Salgado's house?

2. What happens when Mr. Salgado returns home from his trip to the tea estate?

3. During their first meeting, how does Triton reply when Mr. Salgado asks if he's been to school?

4. When he is a boy, why does Triton regard Mr. Salgado's house as the "center of the universe"?

5. What does the London cashier say about the situation back home in Sri Lanka?

6. At the start of the story, how does the narrator try to help the cashier?

7. Through which character does the author choose to reveal the changing sociopolitical landscape of Sri Lanka across many decades?

8. When the cashier asks the narrator if he lives close by, what does the man reply?

9. When Mr. Salgado leaves for a weekend trip to his cousin's tea estate, what additional responsibilities does he give Triton?

10. At the start of the story, who does the narrator speak with?

(see the answer keys)

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